


Tightrope

by iwillnotbecaged



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Spoilers, F/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-11
Updated: 2016-05-11
Packaged: 2018-06-07 17:46:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6817762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwillnotbecaged/pseuds/iwillnotbecaged
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>“Sharon,” Natasha called after her. She stopped and looked over her shoulder. “I just want to bring them in safely. All of them.”</i>
</p><p>  <i>“So do I.” Sharon turned back and headed upstairs.</i></p><p>  <i>She had work to do.</i></p><p>Just a bit of Sharon POV, starting from after Bucky is triggered and going through the end of the movie.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tightrope

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to pringlesaremydivision for the read through and double thanks to SD_Ryan for the read through and invaluable help on the title.

Sharon groaned, rolled onto her side, and pushed herself up off the floor and out of the debris surrounding her. A hand appeared and she grabbed it, letting Natasha help her the rest of the way up.

“Shit.”

“Yeah, that about covers it.”

“Do we know where they are?” Sharon asked.

Natasha shook her head. “Barnes tried to steal a helicopter, Rogers tried to stop him. All three fell into the river, but so far all they’ve found are pieces of the helicopter.”

“Good, that’s good.” Sharon brushed the dust off of her vest.

Natasha raised an eyebrow at her. “Is it?”

“Better than pieces of a helicopter and dead bodies.”

“I’m pretty sure it’ll take more than that to kill those two.”

“You’re probably right.” Sharon sighed and surveyed the destruction in the lobby. At least the area had been evacuated before the tornado that was a triggered Bucky Barnes swept through. She saw T’Challa and Stark talking with some agents. Natasha was next to her. Who else…

“Wilson?”

Natasha shook her head. “Agents reported seeing him chase someone out of the building, but then he disappeared in the evacuation. He’s likely heading in the same direction as Rogers.”

“You have any idea where that is?”

“No. Do you?” Natasha’s gaze was piercing and it took all of Sharon’s effort not to react to it.

“I don’t, but I’ve got some places I can look.”

“Let me know what you find?”

“Absolutely. I hope you’ll return the courtesy.” She walked back towards the stairs, doing her best to not limp as she went.

“Sharon,” Natasha called after her. She stopped and looked over her shoulder. “I just want to bring them in safely. All of them.”

“So do I.” Sharon turned back and headed upstairs.

She had work to do.

 

She made it to her desk and sat down gingerly, pain throbbing through her as the last of the adrenaline wore off. As well-trained as she was, fighting the Winter Soldier wasn’t exactly easy on a regular human body.

She looked up at the security footage playing in a loop, a different angle on every screen now that the power was back up. There wasn’t anything from the containment room, but the fight in the lobby had been captured, up until the point that Barnes disappeared completely, only to reappear on the roof a few moments later.

She watched Steve’s desperation as he grabbed onto the helicopter, saw him topple over the edge. Where would he go? What would he do with Barnes when he got there? Would Barnes come back from being triggered, or just keep going until he killed Steve?

“Well, this is a shitshow.” Rosa interrupted her thoughts and held out a cup of coffee, leaning a hip against Sharon’s desk. Sharon took it from her gratefully.

“That’s a bit of an understatement.”

“Aw, come on. I know you get bored if you don’t get yourself caught up in the middle of an international incident every few months.” 

Sharon huffed a laugh. “What can I say? I like to keep busy.”

“Mmhmm. Why don’t you come with me for a minute.”

“I should really—”

“Nope. C’mon. The world won’t fall apart any more than it already has if you take five minutes. Bring your coffee.”

Sharon grabbed the coffee cup and followed Rosa into the stairwell. She thought they were headed to the roof, but Rosa stopped a few floors from the top and sat on the landing. She patted the concrete next to her and gave Sharon a look that didn’t allow for disagreement.

Sharon sighed and sat, sipping at her coffee. This particular stairwell had windows that let light stream in, but they were high enough in the walls that all she could see from where she sat was blue sky. The fire doors muffled any sounds from the rest of the building and she could feel some of the tension in her shoulders unclench as she sat in the silence with Rosa.

“I thought you did a really good job with the eulogy,” Rosa said when Sharon’s coffee was almost gone.

Sharon didn’t look up. “I didn’t realize you were there.”

“They asked for volunteers for security and I volunteered. Wanted to be there in case my friend needed me.” Rosa knocked her shoulder into Sharon’s.

“Oh. Thanks for that. Sorry I didn’t— I got a bit, um, distracted afterwards, and then, you know...” Sharon waved her hand vaguely at the chaos she knew still surrounded them.

“No problem.” Silence settled around them again. “Have you actually gotten to cry yet?”

Sharon swallowed thickly and shook her head.

“You want to?” 

She nodded. Rosa put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in. “Well, come on then. Let it out. I’ve got you.”

And Sharon finally let the tears fall. Here with Rosa, she could break down. She could weep for Aunt Peggy and the lack of time she’d had to mourn and the stress of the past few days. She didn’t have to be the ever-competent agent, the epitome of strength, the steel spine in the face of adversity here with her friend. Rosa wouldn’t question her ability to keep doing her job or think that she was weak. Rosa understood what it was like to feel like you had to always be in control, never show too much emotion.

She let herself cry for a few minutes, then took the tissue Rosa handed her, giving her a questioning glance. 

“I slipped a couple in my pocket before I headed over to your desk. I thought they might come in handy.” Rosa gave her a small, crooked smile.

“Thanks.” Sharon blew her nose and then took a deep breath. She was just about to suggest they head back when her phone rang.

“Carter.”

“Um, hi.”

And there it was. She really should have figured he would call sooner or later.

“So I guess you’re alive?” Rosa raised an eyebrow at her, and she nodded.

“Uh, yeah. All three of us are.”

“Alive and well, or just alive?” Sharon hoped he would understand what she was getting at. She didn’t know exactly how secure this phone actually was.

“Alive and well. A little light on supplies though. We were hoping maybe you’d be willing to help us out with that?”

“I assume you mean the supplies you left at my office?” Rosa crossed her arms at that.

“Yeah. If it’s not too inconvenient. We’ve got some new intel and need to move on it soon.”

“It might be a bit inconvenient, but I don’t think it’s impossible.”

“You don’t have to. Really. You’ve already done so much, and, I mean, uh, I don’t—”

“Stop.” He did. She closed her eyes and pressed her fingers into the bridge of her nose. “I know I don’t have to. It’s my choice. Just tell me you’re sure about this.”

“I’m sure.”

“Send me the intel. And the address where I should take the supplies.”

“Thank you, Sharon.”

“You’re welcome.” Sharon hung up and opened the text that came through a few seconds later. She scanned the intel Steve had sent on the therapist and handed the phone to Rosa so she could take a look at it also.

“That was Rogers? He’s got Barnes and Wilson with him?”

“Yep.”

“And there are more super soldiers in Siberia, and this guy is planning to wake them all up?”

“Apparently.”

“Are you about to do something really stupid?”

“Maybe.” She smiled ruefully at Rosa. “Want to help me steal Captain America’s shield?”

“Depends on why we’re doing it. Is it just because of his pretty blue eyes and bulging biceps?”

“Well, it’s not _not_ because of the eyes and biceps,” Sharon joked dryly. 

Rosa threw her head back and laughed. “But seriously. Rogers, Barnes, and Wilson are all criminals now. Is this really worth risking your job and possibly your freedom for? What if you’re picking the wrong side?”

“I don’t know. It’s just, the Accords, the bombing, Barnes, all of it — if Steve’s gut is telling him that something’s not right, that he shouldn’t sign, that Barnes isn’t responsible for the bombing and this threat is real, well...his gut’s been right before.”

“This isn’t exactly the same as what went down at SHIELD.”

“No, it’s not. And when it comes to the Accords, at least, I think Stark probably has a point somewhere in all his nonstop rambling. But if Steve truly believes that something is wrong, I’m inclined to believe him.”

“Colonel Rhodes is on Stark’s side. So is Romanoff. That’s gotta count for something.”

“It does, absolutely. I’m not saying I don’t think there should be discussions about the collateral damage surrounding the Avengers. But there hasn’t been any time to actually have those discussions, at least not that they’ve actually been involved in. So I guess that’s why — he deserves time to make his point. The middle of a crisis isn’t the time to have those conversations, so I figure let’s help him end the crisis, then worry about what comes next.”

“Okay, yeah, I see your point.” Sharon waited as Rosa thought things through. “What the hell, let’s go steal a shield.” Rosa stood up, dusting off the back of her pants. “We grabbing Wilson’s wings, too?”

“And Barnes’s backpack, if we can find it.”

“Alright then.”

Sharon stood up and wrapped Rosa in a hug. “Thank you, Rosa. For all of it.”

“Alright, alright, you’re welcome. Now let me go. We’ve got work to do.”

 

Sharon and Rosa loaded the shield, wings, and backpack into the trunk of the car.

“Try to stay safe out there? I’ll do what I can to cover for you here.”

“Thanks. Hopefully I can get out of this without losing my job completely.”

“Either way, you’ll land on your feet. You always do.”

Sharon leaned in and gave Rosa a hug. “Thanks again.”

Rosa squeezed her tight. “Of course. Now get going. You’ve got a supersoldier-in-distress to go rescue.”

“Blue eyes, bulging biceps, and everything.” Sharon grinned and winked at Rosa, who burst into laughter.

“Oh hey, and if you get a chance, can you get me Wilson’s number? I figure that way we could double.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Sharon got into the car and Rosa closed the door behind her. She waved through the window as she pulled out, watching in the mirror as Rosa walked back into the building. She hoped none of the weight of this decision would fall on Rosa, but there wasn’t much she could do about it now.

She made it to the coordinates Steve had sent without any trouble and was there waiting when he pulled up in a VW Bug. She managed not to laugh at the sight of all 6’ 2” of him unfolding from the tiny car, but couldn’t bring herself to pass up the opportunity to tease him about his choice of getaway vehicle.

When Steve leaned down to kiss her, she let him. She hadn’t needed Aunt Peggy’s stories to convince her that he was a bit dramatic, but this wasn’t just Steve trying to live out the storyline of a classic Hollywood hero.

There was something between them; there always had been. Even when she was Kate, the nurse across the hall, she got the feeling that there was something that they recognized in each other. It wasn’t something they’d had time to explore yet — there was too much going on and they were in different places in so many ways. But still, it was there. Under the surface, waiting for the right conditions to grow.

Sharon didn’t know if they would ever find themselves in the right conditions, so she kissed him here, under an overpass, with Barnes and Wilson looking on in their ridiculous car. She let herself have this moment, this small piece of pleasure in the midst of the chaos. She let herself stop thinking and just enjoy the feeling of his lips on hers, her hand in the hair at the nape of his neck. The kiss was tentative and probing, the promise of things still in the distance.

The moment ended awkwardly, as so many moments with Steve did. He really had no idea how to talk to women. They transferred the rest of the gear from her car, and she slid back behind the wheel. She took a few breaths, then pulled out, leaving Steve in the rearview mirror.

She had work to do.

 

“Looks like that’s it for the guards, Steve. You should be clear to head to the containment room.” Sharon tracked his progress on the monitor as he made his way down the hall. On other screens, she could see Wilson pacing in his cell and Wanda in her restraints. Scott and Barton both seemed to be sleeping.

“Thanks, Sharon. Did you get what you needed?”

“Yep. All the files have been sent to Rosa.”

“Good. I’ll meet you back at the quinjet in 5.”

“See you there.”

Sharon grabbed the flash drive with the backup data on the Raft’s other prisoners, just in case something went wrong on Rosa’s end. There was a team ready and waiting to take down Ross and make sure everyone in the prison got a fair trial, but there wasn’t much they could do without evidence.

She made her way back up to the landing pad where the quinjet and Barnes were waiting. He had wanted to go in with Steve, but they had agreed that he would stay with the plane considering the likelihood that they would need to make a quick getaway. She was waiting by the ramp when Steve and the others emerged from the prison. 

Steve smiled at her. “All set?”

“All set.”

“You saving our asses again, Carter?” Sam called over the sound of the waves.

“Looks like it, Wilson.”

They all loaded into the plane, Steve taking the copilot seat next to Bucky. Sharon checked over each of them, pulling some ointment out of the medical kit for where Wanda’s skin had been rubbed raw by the restraints.

“How you doing?” she asked softly.

Wanda just looked at her, anger and fear and exhaustion behind her eyes.

“Yeah, okay. We’re gonna get you somewhere safe, where you can take some time, then figure out where to go from here. Sound good?”

Wanda nodded slightly, then slumped back in her seat, eyes closed.

“So, um, where exactly are you taking us?” Scott rolled his eyes. “I mean, thanks, obviously. Sorry I didn’t say that before.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Sharon gave him a reassuring look. “You’re headed to Wakanda. T’Challa has agreed to allow you all a temporary place to stay until we can come up with a plan for what comes next. He wanted me to emphasize the temporary part.”

“You staying with us?” Scott asked.

“No, I’m headed back to Berlin. I managed to hang onto my job — long story — and I’ve got a lot of work to do.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi [on tumblr!](http://i-will-not-be-caged.tumblr.com)


End file.
